Two Charleston RiverDogs pitchers added to SAL All-Star Game

Charleston RiverDogs pitchers Ben Paullus and Alex Smith have been added to Tuesday night’s South Atlantic League All-Star Game in Lakewood, N.J., replacing a pair of now ex-teammates in Rafael De Paula and Dietrich Enns.

Smith, 23, has been dominant in his first season in Charleston; a Connecticut native who was signed as a free agent out of the University of New Haven in 2012, the righty is 3-3 with a 1.01 ERA in 20 appearances so far this season, with 38 strikeouts and just four walks in 35.2 innings out of the RiverDogs’ bullpen.

Paullus, meanwhile, is in his second stint with the RiverDogs, and the 23-year-old righty has gone 3-1 with a 3.09 ERA in 18 first-half relief appearances, notching 35 strikeouts in 35 innings pitched.

The additions give the RiverDogs a technical total of six All-Stars; beyond the four aforementioned pitchers, catcher Peter O’Brien (.332-11-41 line in 52 games) will play in the game, and RHP Gabe Encinas (3-0, 0.77 ERA in seven starts) was selected but has since undergone season-ending elbow surgery and will not play.